NSBA Applauds Obama’s Choice For Education Secretary
Chicago Superintendent Arne Duncan A Proven Education Leader
A Statement by NSBA Executive Director Anne L. Bryant
Alexandria, Va. – Dec. 16 – The National School Boards Association is gratified and encouraged by President-elect Barack Obama’s selection of Arne Duncan to be the next Secretary of Education. Duncan represents the best of what urban school districts have to offer and will likely open doors to continuing conversations around the state of public education.
As we have outlined in our paper “A New Era in Education: Redefining the Federal Role for the 21st Century,” in selecting his Education Secretary, President-elect Obama has chosen a leader who has demonstrated expertise and effectiveness in managing and leading one of the nation’s largest school districts; in addressing the challenges facing America’s public schools; and successfully leading initiatives with demonstrated and significant increases in student achievement. Duncan represents a realistic view about what is possible in our schools and what will lead them into the future.
We hope that Arne Duncan departs from the “top-down approach” that has been the norm for the past decade, and instead sustains a culture of partnership and support for states, as well as local school districts. We believe a new federal role should “facilitate, not dictate.” Duncan and the Chicago Board of Education have demonstrated that innovation can flourish when the school district puts student achievement first.
We are familiar with his accomplishments leading the Chicago Public Schools, a member of our Council of Urban Boards of Education (CUBE). With a solid background in public education and a commitment to improving teacher quality, Arne Duncan is a natural choice to support Obama’s goals of increasing school funding, creating assessments that accurately measure student achievement, and recruiting, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers.
NSBA is optimistic about the selection and looks forward to working with Arne Duncan as he assumes his new post in Washington.
The National School Boards Association is a national federation of state school boards associations that represent more than 95,000 school board members who govern the nation’s public schools. The organization’s mission is to foster excellence and equity in public elementary and secondary education throughout the United States through local school board leadership.
"A New Era in Education" here at http://www.nsba.org/MainMenu/Advocacy/FederalRole.aspx